Allium Report: Stablecoin Payment Volume Reaches $482 billion in First Three Quarters, Up 45% Year-over-Year

BlockBeats news, October 19 - The latest report released by blockchain analytics firm Allium shows that although stablecoin supply has barely grown this year, the frequency of use and transaction scale of existing circulating stablecoins in the payments sector have both increased. The report notes that in the first nine months of 2026, stablecoin payment volume reached $482 billion, up 45% year-over-year.

This growth stands in sharp contrast to the overall performance of the stablecoin market. Report data shows that as of the end of September, the total circulating market capitalization of stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar was approximately $305 billion, up only 0.4% from the beginning of the year. During the same period, the number of stablecoin payment transactions grew even more significantly, rising 71% year-over-year to over 1 billion transactions. This indicates that even with limited new supply entering the market, stablecoins are still being used more frequently for transactions and payments.

Stablecoin-linked payment cards have also shown rapid growth. Allium data shows that as of September, cumulative spending on such cards reached $3.9 billion, 10 times that of the same period last year. Among these, small-value purchases under $50 accounted for 84% of the incremental increase in card transaction volume.

Three announcements earlier last week demonstrated how stablecoins are further integrating into the global payments system. Mastercard announced on Thursday that it has launched the Global Money Platform with BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure company it acquired in August. The platform integrates traditional currency accounts, stablecoin balances, currency exchange, card spending, and bank transfer acceptance functions through a single interface. Stripe announced it is collaborating with blockchain-based financial services company Plasma to develop payment cards supporting balances in currencies including the US dollar, euro, Brazilian real, Mexican peso, and Colombian peso, as well as eligible stablecoins. Visa said that Inyo Global, which provides payment orchestration services to fintech companies, remittance institutions, and banks, has become the first service provider to put Visa Direct's stablecoin pre-funding service into commercial operation.